Crashing into Public History with Aimee Semple McPherson

2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 35-44
Author(s):  
MATTHEW AVERY SUTTON
Keyword(s):  
Public History ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Aimee Semple Mcpherson ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media

Abstract In this article, Matthew Avery Sutton reflects on his experiences as he unwittingly plunged into the world of public history. His book on controversial evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson was made into a documentary for PBS, and he served as the historical advisor for the project. He argues that despite many historians' skepticism about the genre of historical documentary, writers and filmmakers are essentially engaged in the same process——each tries to simplify complicated stories about the past to speak to their intended audiences. The differences between the two are of scope, not tactic. Turning the camera on himself, Sutton found that working with the public and the media made him a better communicator, a better writer, and a better historian.

Contesting History

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Black
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Public History ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
Original Material ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Western Model ◽  
Fundamental Significance ◽  
The Media

Contesting History is an authoritative guide to the positive and negative applications of the past in the public arena and what this signifies for the meaning of history more widely. Using a global, non-Western model, Jeremy Black examines the employment of history by the state, the media, the national collective memory and others and considers its fundamental significance in how we understand the past. Moving from public life pre-1400 to the struggle of ideologies in the 20th century and contemporary efforts to find meaning in historical narratives, Jeremy Black incorporates a great deal of original material on governmental, social and commercial influences on the public use of history. This includes a host of in-depth case studies from different periods of history around the world, and coverage of public history in a wider range of media, including TV and film. Readers are guided through this material by an expansive introduction, section headings, chapter conclusions and a selected further reading list. Written with eminent clarity and breadth of knowledge, Contesting History is a key text for all students of public history and anyone keen to know more about the nature of history as a discipline and concept.

scholarly journals Virus Eradication and Synthetic Biology: Changes with SARS-CoV-2?

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 569
Author(s):  
Jean-Nicolas Tournier ◽  
Joseph Kononchik
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Viral Disease ◽  
Virus Eradication ◽  
Disease Eradication ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Significant Effort

The eradication of infectious diseases has been achieved only once in history, in 1980, with smallpox. Since 1988, significant effort has been made to eliminate poliomyelitis viruses, but eradication is still just out of reach. As the goal of viral disease eradication approaches, the ability to recreate historically eradicated viruses using synthetic biology has the potential to jeopardize the long-term sustainability of eradication. However, the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 pandemic has highlighted our ability to swiftly and resolutely respond to a potential outbreak. This virus has been synthetized faster than any other in the past and is resulting in vaccines before most attenuated candidates reach clinical trials. Here, synthetic biology has the opportunity to demonstrate its truest potential to the public and solidify a footing in the world of vaccines.

A measure of humanity in internal disturbances and tensions: proposal for a Code of Conduct

1988 ◽  
Vol 28 (262) ◽  
pp. 38-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Peter Gasser
Keyword(s):  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
The Past ◽  
States Of Emergency ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media

From time to time, States are affected by outbreaks of internal violence. Such upheavals are usually referred to as internal disturbances or tensions, disorders, states of emergency, revolutions or insurrections. These expressions all refer to situations that appear contrary to justice, order, stability and internal peace. There have been many examples of the kind in the past, and we know from the media that they continue to occur. Almost every nation in the world has a history marked by periods of insecurity and protest accompanied by outbreaks of violence.

scholarly journals Where Does the World Historian Write From? Objectivity, Moral Conscience and the Past and Present of Imperialism

2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 671-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Drayton
Keyword(s):  
Iraq War ◽  
Imperial History ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Academic Subject ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
Ethical Responsibilities

The contemporary historian, as she or he speaks to the public about the origins and meanings of the present, has important ethical responsibilities. ‘Imperial’ historians, in particular, shape how politicians and the public imagine the future of the world. This article examines how British imperial history, as it emerged as an academic subject since about 1900, often lent ideological support to imperialism, while more generally it suppressed or avoided the role of violence and terror in the making and keeping of the Empire. It suggests that after 2001, and during the Iraq War, in particular, a new Whig historiography sought to retail a flattering narrative of the British Empire’s past, and concludes with a call for a post-patriotic imperial history which is sceptical of power and speaks for those on the underside of global processes.

Risks to the Public

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-15
Author(s):  
Peter G. Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Computer Systems ◽  
Strong Sense ◽  
Risk Awareness ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Media ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Security And Reliability

Mini-editorial (PGN) 2020 was a crazy year, with all kinds of risks on display. As usual, many of the lessons noted in past issues of SEN and RISKS have been largely ignored, and failures continue to mirror events from the past that have long been discussed here. Issues such as safety, security, and reliability always seem to need more foresight than they receive. Y2K con- tinues to hit somewhere each New Year's Day, when short- term remediations that demanded periodic upgrading have been forgotten. (I suppose old COBOL code will still ex- ist in year 2100, when there may be ambiguities relating to dates that could be 21xx or 20xx (although 19xx is unlikely), and the narrow windowing xes will fail even more dramati- cally.) Election integrity continues to be a real concern, where we are caught in the crosshairs between computer systems and networks that are not meaningfully trustworthy or au- ditable, and the nontechnological risks are still pervasive from unbalanced redistricting, creative dysinformation, poli- tics, Citzens United, and foreign interference. We need non- partisan scrutiny and defense against would-be subverters to overcome potential attacks and inadvertent mistakes. In pres- ence of potential risks in every part of the process, a strong sense of risk-awareness is required by voters, election officials, and the media (both proactively and remedially, as needed).

Reflections on the Public Interpretation of Regional Environmental History In Western Pennsylvania

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 50-69
Author(s):  
Chris J. Magoc
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Public History ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Interpretation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Natural Resource Extraction ◽  
History Of ◽  
Environmental Histories ◽  
Western Pennsylvania

This essay attempts to counter the scarcity of efforts to address issues of natural resource extraction and environmental exploitation in public history forums. Focused on western Pennsylvania, it argues that the history of industrial development and its deleterious environmental impacts demands a regional vision that not only frames these stories within the ideological and economic context of the past, but also challenges residents and visitors to consider this history in light of the related environmental concerns of our own time. The essay explores some of the difficult issues faced by public historians and practitioners as they seek to produce public environmental histories that do not elude opportunities to link past and present in meaningful ways.

scholarly journals Young People: Between Literature and Advanced Technologies

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-23
Author(s):  
Ahmad Idris Asmaradhani
Keyword(s):  
Life Choices ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Human Essence ◽  
The Past ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
The World ◽  
Simple Question ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Ideal

In the eyes of literature, existentialist thinkers focus on the question of concrete human existence and the conditions of this existence rather than hypothesizing a human essence, stressing that the human essence is determined through life choices. The ideal, however, is that humans exist in a state of distance from the world that they nonetheless remain in the midst of. This distance is what enables humans to project meaning into the disinterested world of in-itselfs. This projected meaning remains fragile, constantly facing breakdown for any reason— from a tragedy to a particularly insightful moment. In such a breakdown, humans are put face to face with the naked meaninglessness of the world, and the results can be devastating. It is porposed that literature and the media combined have a powerful impact on those who wish to truly realize and understand their message. By studying, reading, learning, experiencing, and knowing the culture of the present and those cultures of the past then one can understand the ideas of life and how the two work together to help us better understand each other and ourselves. In what ways our present culture, our technological advances, and the media shape who we are as individuals is not a simple question. The answer seems to elusively hide in a world filled with cultural complexities. But, it is no secret to find that literature is a source of power. It does influence, guide, and shape the human become as they continue their journey through life. Hence, since human are never without the influence of literature, they will always have factors working to modify the human being. However, it is their choice as to how they internalize what they are exposed to, and in turn, it is up to them to determine the individual that ultimately prevails.

Author in the Classroom: An Interview with Orhan Pamuk

2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-15
Author(s):  
Pınar Batur
Keyword(s):  
Young Woman ◽  
Nobel Prize ◽  
Private Life ◽  
The Public ◽  
Turkish Literature ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media ◽  
Orhan Pamuk ◽  
As If

While I was editing this interview with Orhan Pamuk in the Spring 2007, the media exploded with him: “Pamuk Wins the Nobel Prize!” It was not surprising, because for sometime now Orhan Pamuk has been known the world over as the “super hero” of Turkish literature. In Turkey, once again, the media turned its gaze away from Iraq, EU, unemployment, and questions of accountability in government, to contemplate why, how and what Pamuk had won, and the question of who is Orhan Pamuk? As the intensity of the debate increased, I began to wonder if Orhan Pamuk himself would be following it as if it was about somebody else. It certainly did not sound like the dissonance could be about one person, as the public contemplated him, unfolding multiple layers of his political convictions, his nationalism, his character, family, marriage, and private life. As the attention to his work disappeared, he was processed and reproduced by the media, with an effort that surpassed the media frenzy regarding his trial for his statements on genocide. Pamuk the author was replaced by Pamuk the image on the pages of tabloids. A year ago, when I asked if she had read Orhan Pamuk, a young woman in Istanbul had inquired, “Is he somebody?” Oh! Yes!, he is somebody, actually he has become more than that.

Oligarchizacja mediów w Czechach na przykładzie koncernu Mafra Andreja Babiša

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (324) ◽  
pp. 183-200
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Giereło-Klimaszewska
Keyword(s):  
Public Debate ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media ◽  
Political Decisions

The contemporary functioning of the media is inextricably linked with what is happening in the world ofpolitics. The case of the Mafra corporation and the behaviour of its owner Andrej Babiš shows how throughthe interrelations of these two spheres the media can influence the shaping of political decisions, opinionsor preferences in the elections. The penetration of business and political interests, related informal layoutsand dependencies as well as high media instrumentation allow us to claim that today the process ofoligarchisation of the Czech media is highly advanced. This is connected with the increasing concentrationof ownership of media companies and intervention of the owners into the published content, but also withchanges in journalism itself. The media cease to be a “watch dog” controlling the authorities and caringabout the quality of public debate. Instead, they are creating reality, more and more openly, attemptingto manipulate the public, which results in less and less trust on their part and poses a serious threat todemocracy.

Ends of French

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasser Elhariry
Keyword(s):  
Arabic Literature ◽  
Western Civilization ◽  
French Society ◽  
Progressive Decline ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Literary Cultures ◽  
The Media ◽  
Charlie Hebdo

Pacifist Invasions begins with a short preface that engages the polemics surrounding Michel Houellebecq’s latest novel on Islam and France, Soumission (2015), which hit bookstands nationwide across France on the same day as the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris. Ever since his first novels, Houellebecq has been lyrically singing the progressive decline and suicide of French society and Western civilization. With Soumission, he—and not the attackers—kills them off altogether. This recent episode in literature exposes the difficulty of coping with the afterlives of literatures and languages after colonialism: tellingly, what remains entirely absent from the media circus around Houellebecq in the on-going aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attack is how France, for the past fifty years, has continued to lurk in the shadows of the postcolony. Pacifist Invasions takes as its beginning and its end the metaphorical conceit of Houellebecq’s ‘end of French,’ particularly through its textual and poetic manifestations in Francophone literary cultures that are in dialogue with the world of Arabic letters, to argue that French is undergoing a necrophilological colonization by Arabic literature and Islamic scripture under the pens of the five writers studied in Pacifist Invasions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document